Reaction chamber



Sept. 30, 1941. H, MART|N ETAL 2,257,178

REACTION CHAM ER Filed Dec. 3, 1938 2 She'ets- Sheetl Sept; 30, 1941. I

H. z. MARTIN ETAL 2,257,178

REACTION CHAMBER Filed Dec. 3, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheei 2 Patented Sept. 36, 14l I I UNETED. stares rarest or" iCE ensure I a macaroni chairman Home: z. Martin and honors L. Campbeii, mimbeth, N. L, assignors to Standard Qii Eleveiom ment Company, a corporation of Eleiaware Application December 3, 1938 Serial No. 243,732

' 4 Claims. ((123-288) This invention relates to reaction chambers to the number or units into which the contact adapted to contain solid contact masses and permass has been subdivided. tains more particularly to a reaction chamber By providing a plurality of individual beds of in which the contact mass is arranged in a plucontact material in the reaction chamber itself rality of separate beds supported within the 5 and passing the regenerating fluid through the chamber, and wherein it is desired during cer-' individual beds in parallel, regeneration can be taln periods of operation to modify the flow of accomplished in a much shorter time without inproducts through the reaction chamber. e s the amount of back pressure necessa y While the invention in its broader aspects will to force the fluid through the chamber. have a more general application as will be made D rin h trea cycle, however, the degree apparent hereinafter, it is particularly ad pted of treatment depends, ong other factors, u for the treatment of hydrocarbon oils, such as the length of time the oil is in contact with the in the cracking, purifying and refining of hydromaterial. The time of contact in turn is dependcarbon oils, wherein the oil to be treated is passed ent upon the li a velocity or the oil stream and through a reaction chamber containing a mass 02 the depth of the contact mass through which it contact material capable or bringing about the passes. If he il p rs re passed hro h the desired cracking, purifying or refining treatindividual beds of contact material in parallel to ment. During such treatment, the contact mass obtain the required contact time, the velocity of within the reaction chamber more or less gradthe gases in many cases will be so low as to ually becomes fouled with carbonaceous accumudime q l distribution f e O l o out lations which must be periodically removed to e Contact ass. o t e other hand, the restore the effectiveness of the contact material. p h of e cflntaet ass in t e individual beds In somecases, such as, for example, i th e are such as to produce the desired contact time purifying and refining of oils in whi h th at a velocity such as to. avoid unequal/distribmbonaceous accumulations may be of a tarry nao the depth of the bed will be such as to proture, such accumulations can b r m v d by pagsduce an excessive resistance to the flow of fluid ing a, solvent fluid through th ma In during the regenerating cycle. Expressed in other other cases, such as in the catalytic cracking of words, the ve oc ty 0! e gases o e t ated l oils, either the accumulations are relatively solid rin he rea n y e y e o r ly. if-

cgrbonaeeous deposits or t carbonaceous ferent order than the desired velocity of the posits are burned by passing oxidizing gas, u h gases tor efl'ecting the regeneration. as air, or air dilut with n t gases through t In view of the above, it has heretofore been material to be regenerated, proposed to provide a reaction chamber wherein In either case, it is necessary to periodically the regener ui y be passed thro h the interrupt the treating operation in order to .reindividual beds of contact material in parallel generate or reactivate the contact material. In during e regeneration tre tment and the prod order to reduce the length of time the reaction 11 o e tr t d can be passed through the inchamber i t 1 operation, 11; 1 desirable-t0 dividual beds in series during the treating pepass large v l of regenerating fluid through riod. While this overcomes many of the objec t t t t -1 ,11 the shortest possible m 40 tions above mentioned, it has certain other. dis- However, the resistance of the contact material a'dvlillll'lages- If the P s to e reated pass to the flow oi the regenerating fluid therethrough the individuel'beds in series. e e of through increases as the square of the velocity of the reactor is limited to in which the t regenerating fluid Larger volumes of sired contact time is obtained without increasing generating fluid can be passed through the com the velocity or the gases to a degree such that tact material per unit 0! time without corre-. ggs gz of the Contact mass becomes spondi'ngly increasing the velocity of the regen- Hating fluid by sub d1 v1 ding the Contact material Such excessive resistance may not only increase the pumping and equipment cost to a pro- Within the team chamber a plurality of 0 liibitive extent, but may seriously affect the nasepamte units and Passing the regenerating ture and quality 01' product produced. In many fl d through 19113 seilarflte units in Parallelm reactions, for example, there is an optimum pres such ease. the velocity r he fluid for passing sure for carrying out the reaction. If the presa given volume of fluid through the contact masure drop through the reaction chamber is terial per unit time willbe inversely proportional. cessive due to the resistance of the contact ma- .by vapor spaces.

l terial, such pressure differential between the inlet and outlet may adversely afiect the results obtained. I

One of the p cipal-objects of the present invention is to provide a reaction chamber containing a plurality of beds of contact material in which the flow of products through the reaction chamber may be through the individual beds in,

of'individual beds, each set being made up of an equal number of beds. of contact material through which the products pass in series.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reaction chamber of simple construction having a single inlet and outlet and containing a plurality of beds of solid contact material through which the products may be passed,

either in series, parallel or combination of both.

A further object is to provide a reaction chamber which will permit the products passing through the reaction chamber to be distributed to pass in parallel through separate catalyst units, each unit beingcomposed of one or more 7 catalyst beds and wherein the resistance to the flow of products so distributed will be substantially uniform. I

- Other objects of the invention will be'apparent from the more detailed description hereinafter, in which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. Iis a vertical cross sectional view of a reaction chamber containing nine separate beds of solid material constructed according to the invention and Fig. II

Referring. to the drawings, the numeral l designates a reaction chamber comprising an outer metal shell provided with a suitable refractory lining l2. Leading from the upper end of the reaction chamber is a conduit l3 and from the bottom of the reaction chamber is a conduit l4.

' Supported within the reaction chamber in any suitable manner are a plurality of beds of contact been shown in the drawing nine beds of contact material amounting to an odd multiple of an odd number. For illustrating purposes, there have material numbered l5 to 23 inclusive reading from top to bottom, of which the top and bottom beds may beof variable thickness as later set forth, and as indicated in Fig. 1 by the broken portions I and 1! respectively. 'Each bed is supported on perforated-trays mounted within the chamber in any suitable manner. The adjacent beds are separated from each other to form free spaces 24-3l inclusive reading from top to bottom. A free space 32 is likewise provided at the top of the reaction chamber communicating with the outlet conduit l3 and a free space 33 is provided at the bottom of the reaction chamber communicating with the conduit |4.' Depending from thefree space 32 at the top of the reaction chamber is a series of internal ducts 34, 35, 36 and 31. Duct 34 provides communication between the top free space 32 and' the free space between the catalyst beds i6 and I1. Duct 35 provides communication between the upper free space 32 and the free space 21 between catalyst beds is and I9. Duct 36 provides communication between the upper free space 32 and free space 29 between beds 20 and 2|-, and duct 31 provides communication between the top free space 32 and v the free space 3| between beds 22 and 23. Thus,

is a diagrammatic illustration of an apparatus containing fifteen beds of contact material.

In accordance with the broad phases of the invention, the reaction chamber is provided with an odd multiple of an odd plural number of beds 01' contact material separated from each other The number ofindividual beds may be, for example, 9, l5, 2|, 25, 21, 33, etc. Internal ducts are provided permitting free communication between alternate vapor spaces with one end of the reaction chamber and a second series of conduits are provided permitting free communication between the intervening vapor Spaces, with the 'opposite end of the reaction chamber. Each of these vapor conduits are provided with valves. By closing all of the valves, products introduced at one end of the reaction chamber maybe passed through all of the catalyst beds'in series before being withdrawn to the opposite end. By opening the valves in the conduits, products introduced at one end of the' it will be seen that the internal ducts. 34, 35,

36 and 31 permit communication between the upper end of the reaction chamber and alternate free spaces between the adjacent catalyst beds.

Extending upwardly from the lower vapor space 33 is a second series of internal conduits 38 to 4| inclusive. Internal conduit 38 permits comunication between the free space 24, between beds l5 and I6, and the bottom of the reaction chamber; conduit 39 provides communication. between free space 26, between beds l1 and I8 and the bottom of the reaction chamber; eonduit 40 provides communication between free space 23, between beds l9 and 20 and the bottom of the reaction chamber, and conduit 4| provides commlmication between free space 30, be-

tween beds 2| and 22, with .the bottom of the reaction chamber. 1

It will be apparent from the above, that the v Each of the vapor conduits 34 to 4| inclusive are provided with a suitable valve so as to open or close the conduits. The valves are provided with suitable operating rods extending outside of the reaction chamber as shown diagrammati cally in the drawing. The valves may be of any suitable construction, such as butterfly valves as shown, or they may, for example, comprise closure plates adapted to seal over the ends of the conduits.

When all of the valves are in closed position as illustrated in the drawing, products introduced into the bottom of the reactor must pass through all of the beds of contact material in series before being removed from the opposite end of the reactor. By opening all of the valves, products introduced into the reactor may be caused to pass in parallel through the individual beds of contact material. For example, productsintroduced into the bottom oi the reactor through conduit i l will flow as follows: a portion of the products amounting to approximately one-ninth of the total will pass upwardly through the bottom bed 23 thence through conduit 31 to the outlet it. Another portion amounting to about two-ninths of the total will pass upwardly through conduit ll to the free space 30 from whence one portion will pass downwardly through the bed 22 thence through duct 31 to the outlet. The remaining portion will pass upwardly through bed 2i thence through duct 36 to the outlet (13. Another fraction amounting to about two-ninths of the total will pass upwardly through duct M?! to the free space 28 from whence one-half will pass downwardly through bed Ill thence through fying the size of the separate internal -conduits duct 36 to the outlet 83, whereas the other half other half will pass upwardly through bed l'l' thence through conduit 34 to the outlet l3. The remaining fraction introduced into the reactor, amounting to two-ninths o! the total will pam 23 and thence through conduit 31 to the outlet l3 should meet substantially the same resistance to the flow, as products passing, for example, upwardly through duct 39 thence downwardly through bed 18 and outwardly through duct 35. In other words, the pressure drop between the inlet and the outlet of the reaction chamber arising by virtue of the resistance of the individual beds and the internal ducts to the flow of products should be substantially the same for all of the streams heretofore described. The pressure drop for the individual streams previously described may be equalized in various ways, such as, for example, by modifying the depth of the I contact material through which the individual streams must pass, by the provision of dummy conduits within the separate beds and by modiin accordance with the volume of products passing therethrough. For example, in the drawing, when operating'in parallel, the products passing through all of the intermediate beds are transferred through two internal conduits whereas products passing through the top and bottom beds pass through only one internal conduit. While the total length oi internal conduit through which the various streams pass in each case is not materially different, those products passing through two separate conduits may meet substantially greater resistance than the streams passing through a single internal conduit due to the fact that the greatest resistance to the upwardly through duct 38 to the free space M from whence one half will pas downwardly the products introduced into the reactor may be caused to pass in parallel through three separate sets of catalyst beds, each set consisting of three beds as follows: a portion of the products intro-' duced into the bottom .of the reactor amounting to one-thlrd the total will pass upwardly through the three lower beds 2|, 22 and 23 and thence through conduit 36 to the outlet IS. The remaining two-thirds of the products introduced into the reactor will pass upwardly through the duct 39 to the free space 26 from whence it will divide, a half passing upwardly through the top three beds l5, l6 and I1 and the other half passing downwardly through the three intermediate beds l8, l9 and 20 and discharging through duct 36 to the outlet l3.

When employing the reaction chamber for the catalytic treatment of hydrocarbon oils, for example, it is desired to carry out the cracking cycle according to the last mentioned flow and to carry out the regenerating cycle by passing the regenerating gases through the individual beds in parallel.

In order to .obtain uniform results, it is desirable that the separate streams of products through the separate groups of beds in parallel as before described, should be subjected to substantially uniform resistance during their passage through the reaction chamber. Stated in another way, when operating in parallel for extransferred through one conduit before being withdrawn from the chamber, whereas products passing through the remaining beds must pass through two conduits.

It will be evident also that distribution will be improved during combination series and parallel flow or parallel flow through separate groups of catalyst beds by making the top and bottom beds suiliciently thicker than the intermediate beds to compensate for difierence in resistance arising due to the fact that products passing through either of these two beds have to pass through a single internal conduit whereas products which do not pass through these two beds have to go through two internal conduits.- In the combination series and parallel flow, products passing through the top and bottom group of beds are transferred through a single internal conduit, whereas products passing through the three intermediate beds have to pass through two internal conduits.

When passing the products through the reaction chamber in the combination series and parallel flow wherein the products are caused to be passed through three separate sets of catalyst beds, each set comprising three individual beds, two-thirds of the total products as before described, must pass through conduits 36- and 39 and one-third of the total products passes through both conduits 39 and 39 before being passing through the separate beds in parallel or removed from the catalyst chamber; In practical operations, therefore, it may be desirable to provide a plurality of conduits 39 and 39 connecting vapor space 29 and 28 with the top and bottomof the reaction chamber respectively. In lieu of employing a plurality of conduits 36 and 39,

amp products 9 1 8 throush e low r d these conduits may be made larger than the remaining conduits. In the latter case, however, during the regenerating cycle whereinthe products pass through theindividual beds in parallel, the larger cohduits 36 and 39 will ofier less resistance to the flow of regenerating fluid therethrough and consequently unevenly distributing the regenerating medium to the various beds unless the valves in the large conduits were closed sufficiently to compensate for the diiference in size of the conduits.

For illustrative purposes the ducts within the reaction chamber have, been shown in the same vertical plane. It wil1 be understood, however, that in actual construction, it is preferable to distribute the ducts uniformly over the full cross sectional area of the reaction chamber.

For convenience, the reaction chamber illus-' trated in Fig. 1 has been shown to contain nine separate beds of contact material. As before described, however, the invention in its broader aspects contemplates the provision of a reaction chamber containing any plurality of catalyst beds struction having a single inlet and outlet through which the products may be selectively passed in any of the various ways heretofore described.

Having described the preferred embodiment,

it is understood thatthe invention embraces such derstood that it is not the intention to unneces in which the total number is an odd multiple of an odd plural number. It will be apparent that such a number will always be an odd number. By providing an odd number of catalyst beds within the reactor, it is possible to introduce the products into the reactor through one inlet and withdraw them through a single outlet at the opposite end of the reactor, whereas the products flowing throughthe individual beds may be made to take the separate courses heretofore described.

sarily limit the invention or to dedicate any novel features thereof.

We claim:

1. An apparatus comprising a closed reaction vessel, an odd plural number of beds of contact material supported laterally in said vessel in vertically spaced relationto each other and to the .vessel ends providing a free' space above and below each bed and at each end of the vessel, a

series of conduits of varying lengths extending longitudinally of 'said vessel connecting the free space at one end thereof with alternate free spaces between the beds, oneconduit of said series terminating in each alternate space, a second series of conduits of varying lengths connecting the free space at the opposite-end of said vessel with free spaces intermediate the aforementioned alternate free spaces, one conduit of said second By further providing an odd multiple of an odd number of catalyst beds, the total catalyst mass may be sub-divided into a plurality of sets, each set containing the same number of individual beds, and the products may be caused to passthrough the'separate sets in parallel.

Byemploying a reaction chamber containing a plurality of catalyst beds wherein the odd multiple is different from the odd number, greater flexibility of operation is permissible in thatthe individual sets of catalyst beds contained within the reactor may either be the odd multiple or the odd number. For example. when employing a reactor containing fifteen catalyst beds such beds may be divided into five sets, each set consisting of three beds, or it may be divided into three sets, each set consisting of five beds. Furthermore, this can be accomplished by simple manipulation of valves in the internal conduits. This is more clearly illustrated in Fig, 2. Referring to Fig. 2, the reaction chamber contains I invention has particular application to the treat-v ment of hydrocarbon oils, it will be understood that it will also have other applications wherein" it is desired to vary the flow of products through the reaction chamber from series to parallel or from series to combined series and parallel orfrom' combined series and parallel to parallel.

The invention, therefore, makes possible the V provision of a reaction chamber of simple conseries terminating in each intermediate free space, and means for introducing a fluid material at one end of said vessel, and for removing fluid material .from the other end. I

2. An apparatus comprising a closed reaction vessel, an odd plural number of beds of contact material supported laterally in said vessel in vertical spaced relation to each other and to the vessel ends, providing a free space above and below each bed and at each end of the vessel, a series of ,ponduits of varying lengths extending longitudinally of said vessel connecting the free necting the free space at the other end of said vessel with free spaces intermediate the aforementioned alternate free spaces, one conduit of said second series terminating in each interme-- diate space, means for introducing a fluid material at one end of said vessel .and for removing fluid material from the other end, and'means for controlling the flow of material through the respective conduits of each series. y 3. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which the means for controlling flow through said conduitsare valve means in each conduit, and valve mediate beds of solid contact material supported laterally of the vessel between the end beds, in

vertically spaced relation thereto, andto each '65 other, providing a free space above and below each intermediate bed, means for introducing a fluid material into the free space at one end ofsaid vessel, and for removing fluid material from the free space at the opposite end thereof, a series of conduit elements of varying lengths extending longitudinally of said vessel connecting the free space at one end thereof with alternate free spaces between the beds, one conduit of said series terminating in each alternate space, a second series of conduit elements of varying variation of flow through said conduit elements to provide for series flowthrough said beds from I end to end 9! the vessel, parallel flow through individual beds, or parallel flow through indi- 5 vidual equal groups of beds.

110mm. z. mam; DONALD L. CAMPBELL. 

